Guard fender



F eb. 3, 1925.

- 1,524,947 R. osTERHoRN 4 GUARD FENDER Filed June 17, 1924 3 sheets-sheet ,1

Feb- 3,1925. 1,524,947 l R. osTERHoRN GUARD FENDER Filed June 17 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 `A TTORNE Y Feb. 3, 1925. l 1,524,947

' R. OSTERHORN GUARD FENDE R Filed June 17, 1924 s Lineas-sheet s INVENTOR Y, ,4 TTORNEY Patented Feb. 3, 19.25.

TED STATES PATE;

ROBERT OSTE'RHORN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

GUARD FENDER.

Application filed June 17, 1924. Serial No. 720,643.

To all 071cm 'it ymay concern.'

Be it known that I, ROBERT Gs'rnnnonlv, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Guard Fenders, of which Ithe following is a specification, reference being` had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to guard fenders for attachment to self-propelled vehicles and more particularly to a. front end guard fender adapted to completely protect the forward end of lthe vehicle against damage in collision.

An important object of the invention is to provide a device of this character so con structed that it will prevent injury to persons with which a vehicle to which it is applied may collide.

A further object of ythe invention is to provide a construction of this character which may be readily applied to vehicles without in any way altering the present construction thereof, being in the form of an attachment.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a device of this character having a hinged swinging section adapted to contact with the legs of the person with which the vehicle collides and which by its contact alters its position, tending to elevate the person engaged from the right-ofway to support them until the vehicle may be stopped.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character in which the cushioning of theA shielding elements is so distributed as to make the fender most yieldable at those portions which are most liable to con-tact with the bodies of persons collided with, so that injury to the vital portions is prevented.

These and other objects I attain by the construction shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention and wherein z- Figure il is a front elevation showing a combined guard fender and oscillator constructed in accordance with my invention applied to a vehicle;

Figure 2 is a plan view thereof;

Figure 3 is a side elevation showing the construction of the lower portion of the oscillator and guard;

Figure is a, detail rear elevation showw ing the mounting of the rollers;

Figure 5 is a detail view showing the joint of the crank;

Figure (i is a detail view of the braces employed for maintaining the bars of the oscillator in properly spaced relation.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numeral i0 generally designates ythe side members of the frame of a vehicle to which, in accordance with my invention, I rigidly attach the rear ends of supporting arms ll. These supportin arms are preferably channeled in their outer faces and have their rear ends l2 conforming to the shaping of the side members of the frame which they abut. From these rear ends the arms incline downwardly and are offset from the body frame, as at 18, the forward ends thereof being arranged iu a plane Jforwardly of the front end of the frame and at a point considerably below the frame being provided with angular out turned feet lil. To these outturned feet secured a transversely disposed angle bar l5 having one flange thereof horizontally directed and the other flange tliereonwhicl is secured to the transverse feet, upwardly directed. The arms ll, together with the transverse bar l5. provide a support for the fender structure hereinafter described.

Secured to the transverse bar at the ende thereof extending upwardly therefrom are hollow square posts 16, the lower ends of which rest upon the horizontal lflange of the angle bar l5 and are secured to the vertical flange of the angle bar. rIhe upper ends of these square bars are connected by an upper transverse bar. The upper ends of these vertical bars, which extend to a height approximating the height of the top of the vehicle, are connected by a transverse bar 17 which is preferably held in position by means of angles 18. each having one arm secured to a vertical support 16 and the other arm thereof secured `to the transverse bar 17. From the upper ends of the vertical bars 1G rearwardly extending braces 19 are preferably employed to connect the upper ends of these bars to the body of the vehicle as shown. rEhe upper bar 17 may be employed as a support for pcnnants 2O or the like if so desired. Secured to the lower ends of the vertical supporting posts 16 and to the angle bar 15 are the lower ends of cross tie rods 2l, the upper ends of which are connected with the supporting psf-sts lli adjacent the upper ends thercot lo coil springs 22, which at the time ot' atai'zhment are placed under tension so that these tical posts are stitl'ened.

Secured at their lower ends to the ycrtical flange ot the angle bar l5 at points uniformly sniced along the length thereof7 intermediate the vertical supports lb, er' a plurality ol vertical metallic strips Q-l upper ends et' which are connected to tie upper cross bar l? by coil springs 2li-7, permitting inward movement ot the upper ones ot these strips under impact. lllith these strips are interwoven a plurality or horizontal strips which are termed ot spring material and the ends oit which are provided with forwardly looping bows 26 the ends of which are reverted and secured to the posts l?. By inspecting Figure l it will be seen that this structure provides a network supported trom the lfront end et the vehicle and which is yieleably mounted, particularly as regards the upper end thereot, so that it will not present a rigid structure under impact. rlhe rigidity ot this structure is lessened at the upper end or those portions which would normally contact the head or the upper por ions ot the body ot a person with which a vehicle to which it is applied might collide. This resiliency is further increased by increasing` the size ot the looped bows 26 at the ends ot' the transverse or horizontal strips 25 so to thereby increase the resiliency thereof.

Secured to the lower surface el the hori Ztuital flange oi the angle bar l5 are a plurality oit :ingle brackets 2? in which is n'iounted a shaft 28. To this shaft :it points spaced thereon are attached three arms 29, two ol'v these arms being so disposed that they operate adjacent the inner side faces of' the vertical posts i6. lfhese arms have each secured thereto at vertically spaced points a plurality of elliptiil springs 8O which extend forwardly trom the arms and are secured at opposite points to transversely eX- lending bars 3l which may be made ot' wood or any other suitable material. ln the present instance a re disclosed three oi the elliptic springs secured to each ot the arms 29 and three bars being employed. ...t will be obvious that this number' can be chai red it desired. 'lhis spring preferably toi-med oi? light readily yielding material in the term ot a flat split elliptic band the ends ot the arms oli' which are secured to the transverse strips 3l by means ot carriage bolts at 32. At the point et attachment of each set of the springs BO to the bars, the bars are connected one with another means oil shackles 38 each in the term ot a length oit spring metal having a sinuous centersection 3ft and having at its ends eyes bars but will permit separate movement under impact so as to permit one bar to vield more than the remaining bars. The owerinost bar 3l has secured thereto, preteraby by these same carriage bolts, roller mountings in which are inounted rollers projecting below the lower sur't'ace ot 'the bar to elevate the bars as a unit upon con tact- \^:ith anything passing beneath the oscillator termed by the structure above described. 'l` he necessity tor these rollers will be apparent when it is pointed out that the lowermost bar is preferably arranged slightly above the level ot the ankle of the pedesfrn and accordingly would be subject to 'anta/ct with the road wheels ot the vehicle i. aged in a rut or when the vehicle was passing along a sharply crowned road.

'llo the upper end of the two outermost arms are secured ratchet links 3'?" each haring a slot therein the upper surta-ce et which formed to provide forwardly facing The slots receive headed ratchet teeth 38.

elements 89 which are secured to the posts Jf1 .i

l c the headed element being normally entaged by the .rear end wall of the slot. rllhe rear extremities oi" these links are connected :ith the angle bar 15 by means of coil springs l0.

lt will be noted that the arms 29 normally incline forwardly and upwardly and thrplane, represented by the 'fronttaces ot the transversev bars 3l, is correspondingly iiiclined. so that upon contact of this oscillatorl with the body oit a person, the iippernios bar is lirst engaged with the person. llecause ot the mounting` ot the arms permitting pivoting thereof and the yielding et the bars upon their spring mountings, the bars will successively engage and at the time oll engagen'icnt oit the lowermost bar with the body et the person this bar will be moving upwardly so that the tendency is to elevate the body ot' the person engaged and throw the body against the screen 'termed by the vertical and transverse members- -l and Arms oiitthrowu in a natural attempt to grasp some supporting surface will very probably come in contact with somel portion ot' this network, particularly the bows 2G thereoiu by means ot which the person may support himselt'7 thus preventing him 'from falling from the oscillator upon the ground where he would be subject to contact by the wheels et the vehicle. This oscillator is held in any position where it may be forced by collision due to the engagement oit the ratchet teeth 38 with the headed members 39. proper engagement being insured by the spring e0.

Where the cars to which :tenders of this type are applied are provided with a starting crank which is not removable, as is the case with at least one well known type of vehicle, a folding starting crank 4l is preferably provided, this starting crank having an extension section 42 to which the cranking portion 43 proper is pivoted. This section 42 extends to the front face of the network formed by the members 23 and 25 and the hinge-d connection is such that the cranking portion 43 may be either moved into alignment with this extension section or at right angles thereto, at which time it lies against the face of the network and may be secured thereto. A, locking pin 44 is provided for locking the sections of the crank in aligned position during the cranking operation.

A structure such as above described may be made very light in weight and at the same time will very efficiently prevent injury to persons with which a vehicle to which it is applied may come in contact. It may be readily applied to the vehicle and will not interfere in any manner with the operation thereof. It will, of course, be understood that this structure is capable of a certain range of change and modification necessary in its adaption to various types of vehicles and I accordingly do not limit myself to such specific structure as hereinbefore set forth except as hereinafter claimed.

I claim l. In a guard fender for automobiles, a rigid bar supported from the forward end of the vehicle and in advance of the vehicle, a reticular structure supported from the bar and extending upwardly therefrom, the sides and upper end of the structure being yieldably supported, said structure comprising transverse and vertical members inter'- wo ven with one another, vertical supports extending upwardly at the sides of the structure. the transverse members having bowed end portions secured to said supports and extending forwardly in advance of the supports, said transverse members being formed of resilient material.

2. In a guard fender for automobiles, a rigid bar supported from the forward end of the vehicle and in advance of the vehicle, a reticular structure supported from the bar and extending upwardly therefrom, the sides and upper end of the structure being yieldably supported, said structure comprising transverse and vertical members interwoven with one another, vertical supports extending upwardly at the sides of the structure, the transverse members having bowed end portions secured to said supports and extending` forwardly in advance of the supports, said transverse members being formed of resilient material, the upper ends of said vertical supports being connected by a cross bar, springs connectiing` the upper ends of' the vertical members to said cross bar.

3. In a. guard fender for automobiles, a rigid bar supported from the forward end of the vehicle and in advance of the vehicle, a. reticular structure supported from the bar and extending upwardly therefrom, the sides and upper end of the structure being yieldably supported, said structure comprising transverse andy vertical members interwoven with one another, vertical supports extending upwardly at the sides of the structure, the transverse members having bowed end portions secured to said supports and extending forwardly in advance of the supports, said transverse members being formed of resilient material, the upper ends of said vertical supports being connected by a cross bar, springs connecting the upper ends of the vertical members to said cross bar, and braces extending between the upper end of the reticular structure and the vehicle at points spaced from` the forward end thereof.

4. In a guard fender for automobiles, a rigid bar supported from the forward end of the vehicle and in advance of the vehicle, a reticular structure supported from the bar and extending` upwardly therefrom, the sides and upper end of the structure being vieldably supported, a structure pivoted at its lower end to said cross bar and capable of a limited swinging movement on said cross bar permitting movement of the free ends toward the reticular structure but preventing their return movement, and resilient bumper elements forming a portion of said structure and moving upwardly during` movement of the end of the structure toward said reticular structure.

5. In a guard fender for automobiles, a rigid bar supported from the foward end of the vehicle and in advance of the vehicle, a reticular structure supported from the bar and extending upwardly therefrom, supports for the reticular structure at the sides thereof, a plurality of arms pivoted beneath said bar and extending upwardly and outwardly therefrom, a connection between the supports of the reticular structure and the upper ends of certain of said arms permitting movement of the arms toward the supports but preventing return movement thereof, a plurality of bars spring connected to each of said arms, said bars extending transversely of the vehicle and in advance of the arms. and connections between the last named bars nuiintainingthe same in spaced relation. Y'

G. In a guard fender for automobiles, a rigid bar supported from the forward end of the vehicle and in advance of the vehicle, a reticular structure supported from the bar and extendingupwardly therefrom, supports for the reticular structure at the sides thereof, a plurality of arms pivoted beneath said bar and extending upwardly and outwardly therefrom, a connection between the supports of the reticular structure and the upper ends ot' Certain or' said arms permitting movement ot the arms toward the supports but preventing return movement thereof, comprising links pivoted to the last named arms and having` slots, headed elements carried by said supports and extending through the slots of the links, one wall of the slot being in the form of a ratchet having forwarly Yfacing teeth, and springs connected with said links and maintaining the toothed face of the links in engagement with said headed elements.

7. In a guard 'fender 'for automobiles, a rigid bar supported from the `forward end of the vehicle and in advance of the vehicle, a reticular structure supported Jirom the bar and extending upwardly therefrom, supports for the reticular structure at the sides thereof, a plurality of arms pivoted beneath said bar and extending upwardly and outwardly therefrom, a connection between the supports of the reticular structure and the upper ends of Certain of said arms permitting movement of the arms toward the supports but preventing return movement thereof, a plurality of bars spring connected to each of said ams, said bars extending transversely of the vehicle and in advance of the arms, and connect-ions between the last named bars maintaining the same in spaced relation comprising members formed of spring material and secured at opposite ends to adjacent bars` said members intermedi.- ate their ends being formed to provide spring loops.

In testimony signature.

whereof I hereunto aiix m y ROBERT OSTERHORN. 

